The Diego Diaries: Going On (dd7 34)
=0=In a cab after school heading for NEST Headquarters
They sat in a row, five little botlets holding servos as they smiled brilliantly at their companions. Across from them on the other seat in the cab were a good half dozen human kids smiling back. It was that day in the month where the human kids took their bot friends with them to visit somewhere. Today, it was to the NEST HQ in the Hangar District.
Given that the Epps and Lennox kids had grown up with Orion and the other kids on Diego Garcia when they were there for this and that reason, it was 'normal' to hang out with them here and play. Today was such a day.
Appa Raptor who was in town to have meetings was drafted to get the ball rolling and he did. He came to the schools, picked up all the infants, then waited on the sidewalk at Youngling Day #1 for the human kids, Bobby and Lucy Epps, Annie Lennox, Sandy Howell and James Hoyt to come down from their class, climb into a cab, then book it for the HQ. Joining them amazingly enough was Jaycee Jameson.
When he saw them pull out into traffic, Raptor joined them at a discreet distance, shadowing the cab through the heavy traffic of mid afternoon from Centurion to The City. He was nothing if not a good appa.
Inside, they chatted. Nearly every Cybertronian child in school in the colony had been downloaded a program of the English, French and Spanish languages. There was a small update portion that would allow them to receive, translate and understand any other human language, if not speak it well. That part would come with age. There were almost no known languages that the bots couldn't learn, speak, read and write.
"A-O," Orion said as he smiled at Annie. "Lou good? Lou good lou?"
She laughed. :I'm good, Orion. What did you do today?: Everyone loved to hear Orion explain things.
He smiled like the sun. "I goed dere to doin'. It doin' good, me. I doin' dis," he said as he demonstrated himself 'doin' dis'. It was anyone's guess what that was. "I eated this," he said demonstrating eating, "my played. I doin' playin'. Lou? What lou do, A-O?" he asked conversationally.
Annie smiled. :I did a lot of stuff, math, chemistry and we swam. Tomorrow we go to The Temple. Festival is coming soon. Are you going to eat at Uncle Optimus's house?:
He nodded. "I, Orion comeded to Owl's house. I eated dere. Lou come?"
:I'll ask my dad: she said as they reached Cultural Center Road. They drove along it passing businesses before reaching the huge commercial area of the Hangar District. Kappa was standing nearby waiting for a truck convoy to pass. :LOOK! IT'S KAPPA!: she cried.
Everyone looked at Kappa as they passed. She didn't see them but if she had she would've waved. Kappa was an amazing individual and loved kids. They passed by, then the NEST HQ came into view.
The cab drove around the side, entered the bot entrance, then powered down to wait for the atmosphere to even out. When it did, the doors opened. "Thank you for using Autobot City White Cab Service. Please come again," a metallic voice said.
They slid down from their chairs inside, the little bits and the human kids, then taking a servo apiece, the human kids led the way down the ramp to the deck. Waiting there, nearly every person not on duty, those who came over from elsewhere because the bit-lets were coming to visit and a few news people on a short leash of what was allowed and not waited around the cab.
Orion being a big sociable ham smiled broadly and struck his signature Superman pose. "HI, SHES! I, ORION GOOD YOU!"
Huge laughter greeted that as the humans stepped forward, knelt and began to touch the kids with hugs and pats. The kids being kids loved it.
A newspaper writer glanced at Will who was grinning. "Who are these kids. I know some of them."
"These are Ironhide and Ratchet's kids. That's Orion, this is Hero and their little sister, Halo. That's Praxus and that little guy is Prowler."
The kids turned to Lennox as he named them, five little Ironhide faces in various familiar appearances, all of them designed to make them the cutest things that most of the humans had ever seen.
Orion smiled. "SHES! LOU SEED ME, ORION!? I LOVE THE SHES!" He then stepped forward to do just that, gently hugging them one after the other. Several humans joined the line again but Orion didn't notice.
Prowler who held his favorite teddy bear smiled at everyone as he stood beside James Hoyt silently watching the show. Praxus was beside him holding Prowler's servo. He smiled at the humans who were delighted to see them. He was, to see them as well.
Epps who was watching whispered to Lennox and Graham. "Raptor's outside. He's trying to be inconspicuous."
Everyone glanced his way. He was standing behind a tall thin light tower grinning at them through the dome. He waggled his fingers as the humans inside laughed. They waggled theirs back.
Jessie Landon who was hugging as fast as the next person glanced at Hero. "Are you hungry? We have stuff for everyone."
"That would be so nice, Jessie. I am and I know Halo is. Right, Halo?" Hero asked with her usual kindly adoration.
Halo smiled. "I doin'."
"She speaks like Orion?" Jessie asked.
"She does. Appa Raptor said if she fell down stairs it would fix it. Orion, too," Hero said. She smiled. "Amma Turbine slapped him on the helm when he said it."
Huge laughter greeted that.
"Come on. We have snacks," Will said as the kids turned toward him.
Orion sauntered forward, then gripped Will's hand. "Lou goin', Moochie. I, Orion go wif lou. Lou doin'. I goed."
"Moochie?" Corey McFarlane asked as they began to herd a dozen or more kids toward Ops Center.
"Don't ask," Will said with a grin. "I've learned not to."
They laughed as they entered the big well lit room that ran NEST operations on world. They would until someone explaining to Orion and Prowler how things worked wasn't fast enough to keep both of them from pushing buttons.
=0=Virginia Command, Global and Interplanetary NEST HQ
"Mars just went off line, sir," a sargent who was sitting behind huge computer screens monitoring traffic in a sector of space that was near the Bootes Barren." He glanced at his supervisor who walked over to stare over his shoulder.
On the huge gigantic forward screens, the images there disappeared. He stared at it, then straightened. "Link me to Mars if you have one."
"We do," the sargent said as he made the connection. An audio feed came back to them.
"Orion! Praxus! Come here!" a female voice could be heard to say.
"I GOED TO DOIN'! I, ORION NOT DOIN'. I NOT DOED IT!"
"Who did then?" the amused voice of a human male could be heard to ask.
Orion stared at him almost too long then made up his mind like a little kid would: "NOT I, ORION! YOU, PAX! YOU DOIN!"
"You little traitor," another voice could be heard around the laughter, then the screen came back.
It was filled with close up images of several NEST soldiers working to get back online and two little robot kids who were standing next to them.
The supervisor grinned. "You there, Lennox?" he asked.
"I'm here. We have a problem, Houston. Is the thing up again?" Lennox asked as he glanced over his shoulder.
"It is," someone off screen said.
Lennox turned to the cameras again. "We had a technical problem but its fixed."
"I see it, both of them," the supervisor said with a chuckle. "Does your glitch have a name?"
Lennox glanced at the two little bots who immediately smiled broadly. He chuckled. "This is Orion and this one is Praxus. They're Ironhide and Ratchet's kids. They're here to play a bit with ours."
"Damn, if you need a substitute some time I have dibs," the supervisor at the Pentagon said with a chuckle.
"Who the shes, Moochie?" Orion asked as he glanced upward toward Lennox.
"Moochie?" the supervisor asked with a grin.
=0=On the street
The Public Works Department teams were out inspecting the area around the Temple. It would draw likely millions, especially among the newest arrivals and thus, every inch of the space that would be filled with mechs, femmes and everyone in between had to be checked out for everyone's safety and movement.
The area of Autobot City would be closed to traffic. It would be easier this year for everyone because doctors and medics would be placed around the general area to assist anyone who needed it. The pathway to the Temple would be kept cleared so that the processional could be made without incident. The area around the Temple itself would be kept clear to the street to allow viewing and the passage of Prime inside.
The atmosphere of the colony was expectant. This was several years into the reoccupation of Cybertron and there were many things to consider. Prime would have them clearly in mind when he entered for the solemnities. He would be the messenger and bring back wisdom. What he would be told would be for him alone. He could tell everyone or not depending on what was said to him.
It would begin in seven days and everyone was hustling to get things ready for the holiest day on the Cybertronian calendar.
=0=Rec Room, NEST HQ
They sat on chairs eating their snacks with ultra manners. Getting it both at home in the family and at school, they had and used them. Cybertronian donuts and 'juice' had been delivered from the Bakery At The Mall of Metroplex. The kids had their own provided by The Resort. When they were finished, they would run to the pool and jump in. It would be high times in the old habitat today.
It would amaze the newbies that the bots could walk around on the bottom of the pool as long as they did. Everyone knew they didn't need to breathe but seeing was believing.
Cameras would be everywhere.
=0=Processor Hospital
Ratchet peered into the room where Millow sat staring into the city beyond from the windows that made the sun room such a delight. He'd checked him out and found that Millow was silent and inward following the scene from the night before. It was as if someone had pulled the plug.
Ratchet was bothered that an entire family was in protective custody. Traachon had been a terrible mech but this was just as awful to Ratchet. Traachon, his bond, his two daughters and his son were on Primal holds. It was unbelievably unnerving.
He stepped back out, then walked out to pick up dinner. It was getting late and the cab would be back to deliver the imps from their outing. They had a great time it would appear. Appa Raptor, world buster and all around holy terror on the battlefield would keep a running commentary about them the entire time they were in the NEST HQ.
The fraud.
=0=HQ, NEST
The cab slid to a halt, then opened its doors in the bot entrance room. The kids had hugged, patted, chatted and all around 'kipped' everyone in the room before Will made sure they were aboard and ready to go. "Your ada will be waiting when you get there. Don't get out until you see him, okay?"
Orion slipped down, hugged and 'kipped' Lennox, then walked back to struggle upward to sit. When he did, he smiled. "I, ORION LOVE LOU, SHE!"
Lennox laughed. "I love you, too. See you later, gator."
They smiled. "IN A WHILE, CROCODILE!" they answered because they were soldier's kids and heard it all.
Lennox stepped out, then into the Ops Center as the hatch closed. Air went out, so did the cab, hatches closed, then all was well again. "So cute," Will whispered as his daughter squeezed his hand.
"They are," Annie said, then she smiled. "WE TALKED THE WHOLE TIME TOGETHER IN NEOCYBEX! ISN'T THAT GREAT!?"
Will laughed. "If you say so."
She did.
In NeoCybex.
=0=At about the same time
Optimus Prime walked into the room where Millow sat staring out at the gathering darkness of night time. He was silent and didn't acknowledge Prime. Perhaps he didn't hear him. Optimus walked to where he sat, then pulled a chair. Sitting himself, he waited a moment. Millow didn't speak so he did. "Millow, I am here to talk to you about this if you need me to do so. I have experience with the Matrix and the Pantheon. I would hope you would let me help you," he said as Millow turned his helm to look at Prime.
=0=TBC 7-9-19